Island People Excellence Awards names 2026 finalists as conference draws near

Eight workplace initiatives covering everything from employee relocation and corporate culture to career development and workplace wellbeing have been shortlisted for the Island People Excellence Awards 2026, with the winners to be announced in Limassol later this month. The organisers announced on Wednesday that eight projects from Cyprus-based businesses had reached the final stage of the competition, with two finalists selected in each of four categories. The shortlisted teams will present their projects at the HR Conference on Friday, November 27, before one winner from each category is announced at the Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner on Saturday, November 28. Both events will take place at the Crowne Plaza Limassol, bringing together HR professionals, business leaders and companies seeking new approaches to managing and retaining employees. In the Talent in Action category, INEX has been shortlisted for Like a Local, a relocation programme designed to help employees and their families prepare for their move to Cyprus and settle into everyday life on the island. It will compete against DataArt, whose International Programming Proggy-Buggy Contest offers programmers of different experience levels a free competition in which they must solve 13 problems in just 42 minutes. Meanwhile, the Culture in Motion category features Smart Dynamics, comprising Kadam, Kaminari Click and OfferGate, with its City of Values project. The initiative uses an online onboarding game to introduce new employees to company values by asking them to respond to realistic workplace dilemmas. The second finalist, Mayflower, has been nominated for Project +357: From Relocant to Islander, which helps employees arriving from abroad become familiar with Cyprus through local products and team activities in Limassol’s Old Town. Mayflower has also secured a place in the Staying Power category with From Concentrated Expertise to Distributed Technical Ownership, an initiative that introduced Lead Engineer roles to give developers greater responsibility and clearer career paths. Its competitor, SportBenefit, has been shortlisted for its employee wellbeing membership, which provides flexible access to more than 350 fitness and wellbeing venues across Cyprus. In the fourth category, Impact HR, AdTech Holding and SOTA are competing with AdTech Holding Becomes Strategy-First Organization, a project that redesigned how the company establishes its priorities and translates its business strategy into practice. They face INEX, whose second shortlisted initiative, A Culture of Clarity, provides employees with round-the-clock access to HR policies and procedures through a centralised information platform. The finalists will have an opportunity to explain the challenges behind their initiatives, how they introduced the changes and what results they achieved during the November 27 conference. According to the organisers, participants will also be able to question the teams directly and examine which practices could be introduced in their own workplaces. The full-day programme will include expert discussions and networking opportunities, while projects submitted by nominated teams will also feature in a forthcoming white paper examining HR best practices in Cyprus. The following evening, attention will turn to the awards ceremony, where four category winners will be honoured alongside recipients of additional special awards. The gala will bring together the shortlisted companies, jury members and representatives of the wider business community, with a dinner and live entertainment also included in the programme. The Island People Excellence Awards recognise HR and people-focused initiatives developed in response to the challenges and opportunities facing businesses operating in Cyprus. The initiative is led by HR Breakfast Club, in cooperation with Mindsetto and Integrated Professional Growth (IPG). This year’s sponsors and partners include Kasha, Kleos, Mentormatic, Yummy Kitchen, Yesim, The Republic, HJS Insurance and UNIKI. Tickets for the conference and gala dinner are available separately, while a Full Experience Pass provides access to both days. Further details, the full programme and ticket bookings are available through the official event website.